In a spectacle of unbridled ignorance and imperial bluster, US Senator John Kennedy has declared South Africa “our enemy right now,” ranting like a petulant child denied his favorite toy. This Louisiana Republican, whose grasp on international relations seems as firm as a wet noodle, is foaming at the mouth over Pretoria’s supposed “buddies” in China, Russia, and Iran. He demands South Africa be booted from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), that oh-so-generous US trade deal that dangles market access like a carrot on a stick, all while expecting African nations to bow and scrape in eternal gratitude. Kennedy’s tirade isn’t just nonsensical—it’s a brazen display of the kind of neocolonial entitlement that has poisoned US foreign policy for decades. And it’s high time South Africa, and the entire African continent, tells these global thugs in suits to shove their ultimatums where the sun doesn’t shine.
Let’s dissect this drivel for what it is: a hypocritical power play masquerading as righteous indignation. Kennedy whines about South Africa’s naval exercises with China, Russia, and Iran, as if the US hasn’t spent the last century meddling in every corner of the globe, propping up dictators, launching illegal wars, and cozying up to regimes that make his “enemies” look like choirboys. Remember Saudi Arabia, that beacon of human rights where women are treated like property and journalists are dismembered? The US rolls out the red carpet for them, arms deals and all. Or Israel, whose ongoing actions in Gaza have prompted South Africa to haul them before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on genocide charges—a move Kennedy and his ilk decry as betrayal. How dare a sovereign nation like South Africa exercise its right to challenge atrocities on the world stage? Apparently, in Washington’s warped worldview, allegiance means turning a blind eye to war crimes committed by allies while lecturing everyone else on morality.
This isn’t about friendship or enmity; it’s about control. The US disrespects the sovereignty of other nations with the casual arrogance of a bully who thinks the playground rules don’t apply to him. President Donald Trump—back in the White House and peddling the same tired playbook—continues to fan flames with his baseless claims of a “white genocide” in South Africa, offering asylum to Afrikaners as if our country is some dystopian hellscape. These falsehoods aren’t just offensive; they’re a deliberate smear campaign rooted in racist tropes, designed to justify interference in our domestic affairs. Trump and Kennedy embody the worst of American exceptionalism: a belief that the US can dictate who we trade with, who we ally with, and even how we govern ourselves. They’ve forgotten—or willfully ignore—that South Africa threw off the shackles of apartheid through our own blood and sweat, not some paternalistic handout from Uncle Sam.
But here’s the wake-up call these Washington warmongers desperately need: South Africa isn’t your vassal state. We’re a democracy that charts its own course, building partnerships with BRICS nations to foster multipolar growth, not to kowtow to a fading hegemon drowning in its own debt and division. AGOA? It’s a double-edged sword, laced with conditions that undermine our autonomy. If Kennedy wants to yank it, let him—South Africa will pivot to markets in Asia, the Middle East, and across Africa, where partnerships are built on mutual respect, not coercion. We’ve survived sanctions before; we’ll thrive without your crumbs.
And to my fellow Africans: This isn’t just South Africa’s fight. From the Sahel to the Horn, the continent is riddled with the scars of US interventions—drone strikes in Somalia, regime changes in Libya that unleashed chaos, economic strangulation through IMF loans that keep us in perpetual debt. These “global thugs in suits,” as they parade in their tailored hypocrisy, see Africa as a resource pit to exploit, not a partner to engage. It’s time to stand united against this neo-imperial rot. Strengthen the African Union, deepen intra-continental trade through the AfCFTA, and reject the false dichotomies of “with us or against us.” Let Kennedy rage; his words are the death rattle of an empire in decline. South Africa, and Africa at large, will rise—not despite these bullies, but in defiance of them. Africa must stop groveling.
Nelson Tumelo Mokoena is civics activist, organizer of the unorganized, member of SANCO Youth Desk in Fezile Dabi Region, writing in his own capacity.
